Recently we asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share their shopping horror stories and struggles if they are plus-size or fat. Here are some of the many responses:
1. Struggling to find anything plus-size at mainstream shops:
2. Being directed to the clearance rack for everything:
"When my plus-sized friend and I went dress shopping for prom, we went to the store in our town where most people go for prom. We got there and they said that they had decided to do a system where they only had what was on the rack. We asked if they have a plus-size section and they lead us straight to the clearance rack, which only had four dresses and were all extremely ugly. When we asked if that was all that was left, they said that was all they ordered in. My friend almost cried because it felt so embarrassing to go into that store and the only dresses they had that might fit are ugly and aren't even the right size."
3. Constantly being told something won't fit you:
"I was browsing through this store for a friend of mine who is tiny. I had grabbed a shirt to buy, but another woman apparently wanted the same shirt, so the shop employee took it from my hands and told me, "It won't fit you." They then sold it to the other woman. The manager was nowhere to be found and they refused to call her. Never bought there again."
4. Always being scolded about your weight (by people you don't even know):
"I went to Victoria's Secret for something new to wear for my anniversary. Couldn’t find anything in my size. So I asked one of the girls for help and she said to me, 'Well maybe once you lose some weight, we’ll find something in your size!' I left the store in tears."
5. Feeling like brands just assume you're plus-size everywhere:
6. Or having options suggested to you — as if you asked someone for their advice:
"I went into a clothing store, just looking around, and I picked up a pair of pants. A store employee came over to me and said, 'We don’t really make YOUR size here but you can always take them to the tailor and have them let out.' I practically ran out of the store and cried in my car."
7. People assuming you'll rip the clothing:
"I had picked a cute dress off the rack and offered it to a friend to try on. The manager of the boutique came over to me, took the dress away, and said she didn’t want 'any broken zippers' in her store. I never went back."
8. People become annoyed simply by you trying things on:
"I was shopping for jeans, and the guy in the store who was helping me eventually got really impatient and frustrated with me because every pair I tried on was too tight around the hips or too loose around the waist. He recommended I try buying my jeans in countries like Brazil, 'where girls are more curvy and you would fit in.'"
9. Everyone wants you in muumuus:
10. Shopping can feel like a demeaning experience:
"One day, I was buying something for someone else and was looking through some items on a rack. I couldn’t find the size I needed, so I grabbed the dress in a wrong size and wandered around trying to get someone’s attention. When I finally did, the sales associate choked on a laugh and said, 'Let’s see if we can find a different style because I don’t think that’s going to fit you.' When I told her it wasn’t for me to begin with, she replied with 'Oh I had wondered!' The entire experience made me feel like garbage."
11. Workers will sometimes ignore you because you're not straight-sized:
"It's the LOOK you get when you walk into a store that you know doesn't sell clothing in your size. The 'who let this whale out in public' look. When shopping with a straight-sized friend, the sales staff will always notice them first and look at them when asking questions, even if they're not the ones buying anything. We constantly get overlooked."
12. You have to deal with the 'diet' solution:
"At a bridal shop, they had three dresses in the size I needed that would even fit enough to get an idea of a dress, and none of them were the style I liked. The associate went to grab a bride from another room to model the dresses for me. She was the polar opposite of me in every way. Super tall, runway model body type to my more hourglass and busty body type.
She looked gorgeous in every dress. The associate that was supposed to be helping me and the associate that was helping her both ignored me and started pulling all kinds of things for her to try on.
I started to get ready to leave and the other bride’s associate told me there was plenty of time to lose some weight before the wedding. The other bride told me which diet I should be on and gave me a reference card for the gym she went to because 'if you sign up, I get $50!'"
13. Or people just flat out dismissing you and your needs:
14. People always direct you to online shopping:
"I hate walking into a store and being told 'We don't carry your size in stores. You can only order it online.' Like really? You have this whole damn store and y'all can't make space for a rack of plus-size clothing? I hear this statement WAY too often."
15. The sizing for your clothes is consistently off:
"Being plus-sized and petite can be such a curse. Finding jeans that are short enough for my legs, but big enough to fit over my thighs and butt, is always a challenge. My body also has the tendency to be in-between sizes and sometimes certain sizes are too big or too tight. My size range can be anywhere, depending on the fabric."
16. Finding professional workwear is always a challenge:
"Not being able to find good business attire is the WORST. So few brands carry plus-size workwear. The ones that do have cheap fabrics and ill-fitting clothes from what I’ve seen. Why can’t I have the cute fitted ankle pants that are acceptable business casual attire nowadays? Why is it that my blazer costs more than a size 8 blazer from the same brand?"
17. Or people assume you don't know how to shop for yourself:
18. Things that don't even have to do with weight suddenly become about your weight:
"I once took a bunch of pricey, unworn heels to an upscale second-hand boutique to sell, and the cashier looked at me and said I’d be better off taking them to a plus-sized thrift store, or just donating them to Goodwill. When I asked if she was even going to look at them, she said they weren’t interested in plus-sized clothes. But these were shoes."
19. And lastly, every health issue is written off as weight-related:
"I called off of a job with the excuse of a migraine, because we had moved into a new house and I had spent all night painting. The next day, my boss called me into his office with another female coworker and told me he knew the reason I called off was because I was overweight, and that my weight had caused my migraine. He proceeded to lecture me on the importance of losing weight if I was going to be the first face people see when they walked in."